Life, Liberty (and most importantly) Justice for all!

So, this morning began very early for me. 7:00 am to be exact, but if truth be told with the recent change to Day Light Savings it was more like 6:00 am and that my friends is way too early. For those of you that really know me, you know that I don't function too well in the morning. I just don't see the point of getting up from a nice warm cozy bed when it's still dark outside and there are more logs to be sawed.

I don't know if it comes from finally being at place in my life where I don't have to rise up at the crack of dawn to rush off to work, because seriously the laundry can wait till 10:00 or 11:00 to get started. It's not putting any pressure me or enforcing any deadlines. So why rush it?

Maybe my lack of desire to rise with the sun stems from the fact that I have (luckily) been blessed with children that actually sleep in and get up at a more agreeable and reasonable hour in the morning. They usually wake up around 8:30 or 9:00 and that is a much more perfect time for me to get myself together and going. I know this will have to change a little once BB1 starts all day school, but for now I am enjoying the later starts to the day!

As for why I was up at what felt like the crack of dawn this morning, I had an appointment with the South Ogden Traffic Court. You see there was this pesky business regarding a traffic citation I received back in January where the officer cited me for "Improper Lane Travel". Hello - I was just making a left hand turn and entered into the turn lane, going about my business, doing nothing illegal, when the cop pulled out from the right hand, through lane and then proceeded to pull me over.

You can imagine my complete shock/indignation/frustration as to why this cop was pulling me over when I hadn't done anything more than drive my car well within the confines of the law. That frustration only grew when I asked him to explain why he pulled me over and he absolutely refused to discuss it with me and simply stated "I won't debate this with you" and walked away.

Oh how I wanted to smack him. When he came back to the car he handed me an "invitation" to attend traffic school, which by the way cost $75 and would require me to spend 8 hours learning about how to drive and the law. Are you kidding me? I didn't do anything wrong. My desire to back hand the cop only grew, but luckily I was able to control my growing temper with the thought that it would be much worse to get carted off to jail for assaulting an officer. I consoled myself with the thought that I would have my say.

So needless to say this little encounter set me off on a path of very righteous indignation and I was all about fighting the citation. So, I let the time frame to sign up for traffic school lapse, which sent the traffic school invitation back to the courts and a citation was issued in it's place, along with an invitation to come to court.

So off to court I went - the first time - thinking I would be able to confront the judge, tell him my side of the story and walk out of there with a dismissal in hand. I was psyched and just a little nauseous only to find out that it was all for nothing. I wouldn't meet with the judge as I had to first meet with the court prosecutor for a Pre-trail hearing. And I had to have an appointment in order to meet with him and that would mean I would have to wait another week before presenting my case.

And oh what a case it would be. I had satellite imagery showing how many feet into the turning lane I entered and copy's of the Utah drivers handbook, all showing me to be in the right. I was ready!

So today I went to the court for the second time to meet with the prosecutor. He called me back into his office behind the judges bench. He was able to pull up video footage from the cop car from the day the citation was issued. I wasn't worried for a second. He showed me everything he had and listened to me explain what happened and before I even had to pull out my satellite maps (thanks Google Earth) and DMV documentation, he said the most wonderful words in the universe "I am going to recommend this citation for dismissal!!" and "You were in the right!"

"Thank you, Thank you very much!" (said in an Elvis drawl & tone)

There is indeed justice in the world and I am so glad I fought for it. It might seem like a small thing, but it was my thing and it even made getting up at the crack of dawn worth while!!

So let freedom ring - Power to the People - and don't be afraid to fight for what you know to be right!